Eli Lilly sanguine about China market

US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Co said the China market has enormous growth potential for its therapeutic products, as the country has a significant population of overweight people who have yet to address the obesity problem.

Eli Lilly said people who are overweight or those who face obesity issues face social stigma every day and that the drugmaker aims to improve the quality of their lives.

"The commonly held view that their weight is somehow their own fault, or their individual responsibility, is one of the biggest barriers preventing people who are overweight or with obesity from accessing the healthcare they need," said Huzur Devletsah, president and general manager of Lilly China.

"The science is clear, obesity is not someone's fault. It is a chronic and progressive disease that deserves the same attention, funding and care as other noncommunicable diseases, and it requires long-term management. We are concerned about the rise of misinformation about weight loss especially on social media platforms, which offer a quick fix instead of comprehensive healthcare that can support improved long-term health outcomes," Devletsah said.

She said in China, there is a lack of awareness that this is a treatable disease, adding that raising public awareness is important.

Patients should receive screening and diagnosis from doctors, and merely changing their personal lifestyles, such as dieting and exercising, may not be enough.

Adults with an initial body mass index (BMI) of 28 kilograms per square meter or greater are regarded as having obesity issues, and those between BMI of 24kg/m2 and 28kg/m2 are considered overweight.

This year, among Chinese adults aged above 18, 34.3 percent are overweight and 16.4 percent obese, and the trend is growing, according to the National Health Commission.

By 2030, the number of overweight and obese adults in China is expected to reach 790 million, and the number of overweight and obese people in preschool age is estimated to reach 18.19 million by then, the commission said.

Despite the data, obesity does not receive the same level of diagnosis, medical care and insurance coverage as other chronic diseases. However, China is showing greater awareness and attaching more importance to tackling obesity.

The China Obesity Congress was held for the first time earlier this month, and shed light on the growing concerns over obesity within the industry.

The National Health Commission unveiled a comprehensive three-year campaign in June about weight management to address the country's growing population of obese and overweight residents.

"In the past five years, only 54 percent of overweight and obese individuals in China discussed weight management with doctors, and many experienced delayed medical treatment," said Qu Shen, director of the obesity research institute of Tongji University School of Medicine.

Qu said they deserve access to comprehensive care, including lifestyle regimens such as diet and exercise, anti-obesity medications and bariatric surgeries.

While the management of lifestyle and behavior has long been the cornerstone of weight management, it is recognized that these approaches alone are insufficient for achieving optimal long-term outcomes.

In July, the National Medical Products Administration approved tirzepatide injections for chronic weight management, a prescription medication for adults developed by Eli Lilly that is not intended for cosmetic use.

"Tirzepatide represents Lilly China's inaugural chronic weight management treatment. It tackles an underlying cause of excess weight. The new treatment will support the Healthy China 2030 initiative and the newly launched three-year public weight management campaign," Devletsah said.

Eli Lilly first launched tirzepatide in the United States in 2022, and in the second quarter of this year, the pharma company's global sales revenue grew by 36 percent year-on-year, partly driven by this medicine, according to its financial report.

The company said it has ramped up the production capacity of the medicine, and will further strengthen the research and development of other metabolic drugs.

zhuwenqian@chinadaily.com.cn